Misdee

I will definitely look into that, thanks. The older Katana was actually my first choice but they were discontinued and sold out at that time. I'm now going to explore the relative merits of the NUX v the Boss. Choices, choices! The Katana does look and sound pretty nifty from what I've seen on YouTube so far.

Thanks so much everybody. Last I heard Boss had abruptly discontinued the Katana headphones amp. This must be a new version, I assume. My benchmark in terms of sound quality is my old Korg Pandora PX4. That sounded so good and was so useful, but is unfortunately now so knackered after years of heavy use. Probably the best money I have ever spent. Does the Boss have the facility to control the volume of the music you are playing along to like you can on the NUX? All I want is to be able to pick up my handy bass and have quick faff-free session playing along to backing tracks ect.

Can anyone tell me about the relative merits of these respective models? What practical advantages does the Pro version offer? Is it worth spending £25 more than the basic version? I want to buy a headphone amp for home noodling, playing along to YouTube ect and the Nux seems to be the only Bluetooth option. I'm not planning to use it for anything more ambitious than that. I'm not very tech-orientated, to put it mildly, so simplicity and less options might be a good thing in certain respects Any experience, advice or suggestions much appreciated.

Tony Levin playing a Steinberger. Collectors item!

I read an interview with Bryan Ferry where he was talking about the succession of bass players Roxy had during their classic era. He singled out John Wetton as being an extraordinary player, as well as Alan Spenner, who he said would still be in Roxy had he not died. He also really liked John Gustafson. Bryan also made a point of mentioning that Alan Spenner was a big fan of Marcus Miller's bass playing, and was pleased when Bryan hired him for Live Aid ect. I seem to remember there was a track on Bryan Ferry's solo album Olympia that had three bass players on. I think it was Flea, Mani and Marcus Miller. No skimping in the bass department for our Bryan !

I remember seeing Nile Rogers, might have been that same documentary, saying that seeing Roxy on British TV in costume with their female backing singers was what gave him the idea for how he would present Chic. There's some footage somewhere on. YouTube of Alan Spenner playing his Wal bass with Kokomo at the 1979 Gay Pride bash and they are knocking out a version of We Are Family by Sister Sledge. Alan can even be seen doing a bit of slapping at certain points. All with a lit fag hanging out of his mouth. Very cool.

When I listen to Alan Spenner on those late '70's /early '80's Roxy albums I can hear Bernard Edwards' influence in some of his playing. You can can tell he's definitely been listening to Bernard and other prominent bass players of that time and incorporated some of it into his own style. I'd love to know if he's using rounds or flats (or both) on his bass. It sounds more like flatwounds to me, but it could be very dead roundwounds. Whichever it is, the sound Spenner gets with his Wal bass on those records really punches through the mix and you could hear it clearly even on AM radio. In that respect he reminds me of John McVie with Fleetwood Mac during that era, who managed the same trick using an Alembic with flats on it.

A used Yamaha 1024/X isn't active but it's within your budget if you can find one and it sounds modern, not much like a Fender at all. It really does have the thickness of tone that the best active basses have, too. It will certainly challenge something like an SB1000 for that in-your-face upfront bass sound that was so popular at one time. I suppose nowadays when bass players refer to "modern" basses it's a bit complicated because what that mainly means is what used to be modern back in the old days, that being the late 1970's to the late 1990's. I've been getting into that sound again recently. It's long overdue a revival. In modern times ie post millennium traditional "retro"style basses and tones have dominated. Modern basses have been considered old-fashioned, if that makes sense.

Roxy Music underrated? You must be joking! I cannot think of many bands who have been so lionised by the media in the years since their heyday. "Serious" music critics and commentators fawn over Roxy at every opportunity. They've become a lynchpin in the narrative that rewrites music history from what actually happened to what certain people like to believe happened. They were an important band at the time, but not as important as some folks would have us believe. I remember the 1970's and they were a cult band with a ardent following, as well as having mainstream chart success. However, their status as saviours of flamboyant music in an age of drab conformity is largely a more recent invention. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Roxy fan going back to those days. My favourite era was the late '70's/early'80's. Alan Spenner and Gary Tibbs were and still are role models for me as a bass player. So inspiring and always interesting. Ironically enough, I remember that iteration of Roxy music being slammed by the music press at the time as being a polyester-clad slick disco/easy listening pastiche. I thought they were great. I liked a lot of Bryan Ferry's solo work in the '80's, too. Some very tasty bass playing on those records, and that always helps.

To be fair, it could be that five string is strung with a high C and the person playing it has really advanced sight reading chops and can transpose bass parts from treble clef. There are plenty of such annoying people in the world. I can think of at least one that has a YouTube channel. No doubt he would want a t shirt to that effect.

If these strings are a serious proposition by Ernie Ball and Pino then it begs the question, what problem are they solving? What advantage do they offer? What was wrong or lacking in some way with the La Bella and Thomastik strings PIno was using previously and how do these new strings remedy that? I've watched the YT video of PIno demoing them and talking about flats in general, but it's all very vague and non-specific about what exactly is special about these strings. To my ears even with PIno playing them they sound like just another new set of flat wounds, with the caveat that new flats don't sound very good to me. Ernie Ball don't make inferior products, I'm sure these are very good strings. However, in marketing terms I suspect what makes them extraordinary is that they cost more.

At my age they need to check I'm still breathing.

I think the bubinga body adds a degree of compression to the tone. Don't some of the Moon Jazz-style basses have pickup placement similar to a Thumb, with the angled neck pickup? They definitely sound nothing like a Thumb. A more comfy Thumb would need a bigger body with a longer top horn, but not a Corvette, because they are uncomfortable in their own right.

There's some synergy between the combination of very dense hardwoods used on the Thumb that gives it such a unique raunchy tone. It's nothing like Spector, that's for sure. The pickup placement must contribute a lot, too. It would be great if Warwick could somehow get that same sound with a bass that's more comfortable to play. I'm sure it's not beyond the wit of mankind to come up with such a design. Just a thought.

FWIW, I played and owned a lot of high-end basses over the years, and I'm in total agreement with all those who say that the Thumb is one of the best-sounding basses ever. It's a unique tone that makes a lot of the competition sound gutless by comparison. I think the five string version sounds even better because of the slightly different neck pickup placement, maybe. However, I'm also in agreement with those who can't live with the ergonomics. What's a comfortable and easily playable bass varies from player to player, but it's fair to say that the Thumb is very much a niche product when it comes to playability. If you're a big guy(or gal!) with long arms who does weightlifting then your going to fare better with a Thumb than a five foot five weakling who is used to playing a Fender-style bass. I can play a Thumb bass sitting down okay,but standing with the bass on a strap I struggle. That's why I haven't got one.

It had ridiculous prices, I seem to remember, even for London but they had lots of media types and celebs ect as customers who had money to burn. It was the late '80's, and if you had it you were encouraged to flaunt it. I just had a quick rummage on the internet and I'm pleased to report that American Classics is still going and, yes, everything they sell is still ridiculously expensive and over-priced for what it is, just like it should be. I expect that nowadays middle aged men going through a fashion crisis are their customer base.

Don't worry, your processed meat in tubular form encased in pastry is safe on my watch.

I used to go to America and buy vintage clothes back in the 1980's and bring them back to flog. It was a lot of fun, and a nice way to subsidise my holidays. There was a shop in the Kings Road called American Classics that was very trendy (and very expensive). I could get most of the same gear half the price. However, even in those days in the States no one was giving the stuff away. All the shops selling secondhand clothes knew the value of the American market for classic and vintage gear.

Regardless of current turbulence, the pound is unlikely to recover historical strengths against the dollar. It might be a bit better than piss-poor, to use a technical term, but no one will be filling their boots with cheap American luxury goods in any foreseeable future. Trade deal or not, American goods such as musical equipment will remain priced at a bit more than they are actually worth. Just an aside, when you see the state of some of the people dining in Greggs nowadays , I think accepting American chlorinated chicken as part of a trade deal is the least of our worries. We've already accepted far worse in terms of diet and food habits.

The golden age of buying from the USA was in the late 1980s when you got about 1.8 dollars your pound and shops in the States were packed with great gear. Nowadays the world is a smaller place, and international shopping is far more common. . Give the potential pitfalls, it makes no sense to save a couple of bob buying equipment from the USA unless it's stuff that is otherwise unavailable in the UK. There's more to consider than the sticker price on the goods, and so much hassle it would have to be something special to peak my interest.

I was there in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Everything and everywhere seems to have got way more expensive in America, not just Colorado, I expect. It used to be British people were shocked at the lower cost of everyday items over there like food and clothing. Nowadays I am shocked how expensive it is even compared to the rapidly rising prices in the UK . I'm surprised so many people are attracted to relocate due legal weed, though. I suppose some folks have strange priorities.

I'm from Yorkshire in the north of England. It's the British equivalent of Texas, both geographically and culturally. I really like Colorado. I was in Denver for a while and then Estes Park and Loveland. It's a magnificent part of the world.

I've got a couple of Sadowsky basses and the preamp is indeed very good, but as with most active basses, I mess about with it for a bit and then set everything flat.

I remember during my time in Colorado the locals had a lot of antipathy for Texans, who gravitate to southern Colorado in large numbers apparently. I always think of Montana as fairly progressive state, what with it's proximity to the Pacific northwest and all that.

EBMM customer service have always been very helpful, in my experience. I'm sure they will get it sorted.